By C.C. Hunter, AKA
Christie Craig
- Add a Pebble—an inanimate
object that has an emotional significance to a character.
Most of us have
something, our grandmother’s pearls or our brother’s dog tags. Things
that we’d run back into the house for if it was on fire. I call them
pebbles. The best pebbles are connected to the character’s goal or the
theme of the book. A pebble resonates with a character’s emotional need
or shows an emotional growth. Pebbles allow you to power pack the emotion
in a scene and a book.
Example A: Think of
the snow globe in While You Were Sleeping and how it connected
to the heroine’s goal of getting a passport stamp. When her fiancé’s
brother—whom she secretly loved—gave her the snow globe as a wedding present,
the viewer’s heart broke because they knew he was the man she should
marry. If it had been any other present, it wouldn’t have carried the
same emotional impact.
Example B: In Don’t
Close Your Eyes, the hero, a musical savant, gave up playing the saxophone
at the age of fifteen because he felt responsible for his sister’s death.
When the heroine sees the instrument in the hero’s home and asks him to play
it, he refuses. She surmises he has an emotional connection to the
saxophone. When issues arise in the relationship, and he’s been drinking,
he blurts out, “I wish I deserved you. I wish I deserved music.” Later, during
the plot’s dark moment, she leaves not knowing if their relationship will
work. But first, she turns to him and asks for one thing. For him to play
the saxophone. When she returns, he surprises her by playing the instrument in
a restaurant. The reader instantly knows our hero has let go of the
guilt. The reader also sees the heroine cared enough to understand the
hero’s issues. What is your character’s pebble? Can you use this in
your book?
- Having a Character Break a
Personal Rule—showing a character when he/she is forced to change their
moral compass.
Sometimes, rules are
meant to be broken. And the consequences can bring tons of emotion to the
page. When a character does something they normally wouldn’t, it ratchets
up the tension. Consider having an honest person lie because they know
the truth would be too painful for someone else.
Example:
Consider the movie Pretty Woman. She’s a call girl who
has a rule to never kiss a John on the mouth, but she eventually gives in and
kisses a John, turned hero, with passion. By giving the character that
rule and showing her break it doubles the emotion in the scene.
Monday, C.C. Hunter AKA Christie Craig will conclude with More Emotional Bang for Your Book: Part Two.
C.C.
Hunter, AKA Christie
Craig, born and raised in Alabama, now hangs her hat in
Texas. Author of forty books, she’s a New York Times and USA
Today bestselling author. Whether penning her young adult
or her adult romantic suspense novels, her ability to create emotional
connection to the reader is her trademark. On February 8th, This
Heart of Mine, a story of young girl’s journey to receive a heart
transplant that comes with the murdered donor’s memories will release in
paperback. On March 26th, In Another Life, a
story of young girl who discovers she was kidnapped as a child, will
release.Find more information at www.cchunterbooks.com or www.christie-craig.com. Join
her on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. Christie Craig URLs Twitter https://twitter.com/Christie_Craig
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/christiecraigfans/ Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/736364.Christie_Craig Instagram https://www.instagram.com/christiecraigauthor/ CC
Hunter URLs Twitter https://twitter.com/CCHunterBooks
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/CCHunterFans/
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